Then two months later, 21-year-old Thomas Decker Dodge was arrested in the 16-year-old girl's death.

Feb. 21, 2013

Thomas Decker Dodge

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A 16-year-old Estes Park girl was found to have committed suicide by shotgun last December before the Larimer County Coroner pulled her death certificate.

Two months later, Thomas Decker Dodge, 21, was arrested on a charge of felony manslaughter for Miranda Ann Casey’s death. Casey was at Dodge’s home on the 100 block of Big Horn Drive in Estes Park the night she died, according to the Estes Park Police Department.

The coroner’s office amended its findings within a few days of Casey’s Dec. 12 death. Because the case is under investigation, the office isn’t releasing the cause and manner of death.

“We had signed it as a suicide, because everything matched up to it; that had been the story of Mr. Dodge,” Deputy Coroner Greg Fairman said, adding that the police investigation revealed something more. “Then it was just a day or two later, if I believe right, that Mr. Dodge started telling different stories.”

Police have declined to give more information about the allegations, and Dodge’s arrest affidavit has been sealed by the court. The entire case had been suppressed — with Dodge’s name wiped from the public docket — by a lower court before District Court Judge Thomas French allowed limited access to the public. Documents detailing the allegations remain under seal.

Manslaughter occurs if someone “recklessly causes the death of another person” or “intentionally causes or aids another person to commit suicide,” according to Colorado statutes. Charges in the case against Dodge also include menacing and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Dodge’s previous criminal history includes Weld County charges of marijuana and paraphernalia possession and possession of a Schedule 4 controlled substance that resulted in a guilty plea to underaged possession of alcohol. Dodge also faces multiple pending traffic offenses.

Dodge works as a jeweler for The Gold Mine in Estes Park, and his boss, Lisa Plume, previously said Dodge loved Casey and would never hurt her.

Dodge is set for an appearance at 8:30 a.m. Friday in 8th Judicial District Court. He remains in Larimer County Jail with $75,000 bond.